News

Call for Arctic Heavy Fuel oil Carriage ban by 2023
by Ship Bunker
Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Clean Arctic Alliance hopes incomplete impact assessment methodology won't delay progress.

Photos: Australia's Submarines in Formation
by The Maritime Executive
Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Rarely, four of Australia's Collins-class submarines sailed in formation off the coast of Western Australia this week.

The submarines, HMAS Collins, HMAS Farncomb, HMAS Dechaineux and HMAS Sheean, were conducting exercises northwest of Rottnest Island.

The Collins class takes its name from Australian Vice Admiral John Augustine Collins; all six submarines are named after significant Royal Australian Navy personnel who distinguished themselves in action during World War II.

HMAS Collins

Displacement    
surfaced: 3,100 tons
dived: 3,407 tons

Dimensions

Length: 77.8 meters (255 feet)
Beam: 7.8 meters (26 feet)
Draft: 7 meters (23 feet)

Speed    
top speed: 20 knots
dived: 20 knots
surfaced: 10 knots
snorting: 10 knots

Range    
surfaced: 11,500 nautical miles
dived: 400 nautical miles
snorting: 9,000 nautical miles

Complement
sailors: 38
officers: 10
plus trainees
 

World's Biggest Offshore Wind Farm Generates First Power
by The Maritime Executive
Tuesday, February 19, 2019

The first turbine at the world’s biggest offshore wind farm has been installed and is now producing electricity. When fully operational, Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm will be nearly double the size (1,218MW) of the current world’s largest offshore wind farm, Walney Extension, and capable of powering well over one million U.K. homes with renewable electricity, generated by wind. 

The project is located 120 kilometers off the Yorkshire Coast and will consist of 174 Siemens Gamesa 7MW turbines. 

The wind farm is a joint venture between Ørsted and Global Infrastructure Partners. Ørsted, recently voted as the world’s most sustainable energy company, began offshore construction just over a year ago, and expects the project to be completed by Q1 2020.

Matthew Wright, U.K. Managing Director at Ørsted, said: “Hornsea 1 is the first of a new generation of offshore power plants that now rival the capacity of traditional fossil fuel power stations. The ability to generate clean electricity offshore at this scale is a globally significant milestone, at a time when urgent action needs to be taken to tackle climate change.”

To date, 172 out of 174 monopile foundations have been installed at the site, and turbine installation is expected to continue until late summer 2019. The electricity generated by the turbines will pass via undersea cables through one of three massive offshore substations, and the world’s first offshore reactive compensation station, all fully installed, before reaching shore at Horseshoe Point, Lincolnshire. The electricity is then transported via underground cables to the onshore substation in North Killingholme, where it connects to the U.K. National Grid.

Ørsted will generate almost exclusively green energy by 2025 and bring clean energy to more than 50 million people by 2030. Ørsted operates more than 1,100 offshore wind turbines. The company has installed approximately 5.6GW offshore wind capacity and has a further 3.4GW under construction. In addition, Ørsted has secured the rights to build approximately 1GW offshore wind in the U.S. by 2023, approximately 1.1GW in Germany by 2025 and approximately 1.8GW in Taiwan. It is Ørsted’s ambition to have installed a total of 15GW offshore wind capacity worldwide by 2025.

Oil on Track for Best First-Quarter Performance Since 2011
by Ship Bunker
Monday, February 18, 2019

However, analysts now warn that the market is "over-tightening"

Total Looks to Offshore Wind as Part of Sustainability Drive
by The Maritime Executive
Monday, February 18, 2019

Total, Ørsted and Elicio submitted a joint bid for the Dunkirk offshore wind farm project in France for a power capacity of up to 600MW on Monday.

The bid is Total's first serious foray into offshore wind and another move towards greater sustainability. To date, the energy major had been focusing on solar for its renewable energy business with the $1.3 billion acquisition of SunPower and a stake in solar and wind energy producer Total Eren. 

"Total's participation in this offshore wind bid is in line with our strategy to develop low-carbon electricity business in Europe,” said Philippe Sauquet, President Gas, Renewables and Power at Total. “Our recognized offshore oil and gas know-how combined with Ørsted market-leading expertise across the offshore wind energy value chain, as well as that of Elicio, an experienced developer qualified from the beginning of the bid, provide a solid foundation for success of a safe and competitive project.” 

Total also announced that it had acquired Synova, a French leader in manufacturing high-performance recycled polypropylene for the automotive sector, on Monday. Synova produces 20,000 tons per year of polypropylene that meets the highest quality standards of original equipment manufacturers and automakers from recycled plastics. 

“By contributing to the lighter weight of vehicles, plastics improve their energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. Producing them from recycled materials will also meet the challenge of managing their end of life,” said Bernard Pinatel, President Refining & Chemicals, Total. “The acquisition of Synova is a concrete proof of our commitment to developing plastic recycling. It reinforces the activities we already carry out in recycling and contributes to Total’s ambition to be the responsible energy major.”

Total is a founding member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, which brings together nearly 30 companies from across the plastics and consumer goods value chain. They are committed over $1.0 billion with the goal of investing $1.5 billion over the next five years to help end plastic waste pollution in the environment, particularly in the oceans. 

The Group is working on all types of plastic recycling. For example, Total produces Circular Compounds®, polypropylene and polyethylene containing at least 50 percent recycled materials and offering the same properties as virgin polymers. Total is also associated with Citeo, Saint-Gobain and Syndifrais in a project aiming to establish a polystyrene recycling system in France by 2020. 
 
In addition, Total is one of the world leaders in bioplastics. Its joint venture Total Corbion PLA owns a plant in Thailand with a capacity of 75,000 tons per year of PLA, a 100 percent biobased, recyclable and biodegradable bioplastic.